Chapter 28- Rollercoaster of Love
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Blaise awoke with a smile on her face. Tomorrow, she and Terry would spend half the day with Luna and Wesley in Hogsmeade and the other half with Ginny and Draco in London.
To top everything off, she'd awakened to the sound of music. Throwing back her covers and opening the bed curtains, Blaise grinned at Fiona and Morrigan, who were singing while getting dressed.
"I should be grateful you aren't yodelling, I suppose."
Cassandra Priam stood in the bathroom doorway. Blaise couldn't get over the change in her appearance. With only a trace of brown eyeliner and lip gloss instead of black kohl and black lipstick to obscure her features, the girl's face was actually pretty. She said, "You look great, Cass. Did you change your look for Kieran?"
Cassandra blushed. "A girl can decide to make a slight alteration in her style without it being due to some pathetic urge to please a boy. Do all of you base your decisions on what makeup and hairstyle to choose on whether or not you think a bloke will like it?"
Blaise nodded along with her friends.
Cassandra rolled her eyes and prepared to stalk out the door.
Morrigan ruined her grand exit. "Hey Cassandra, wait. Kieran asked me last night to tell you he's going to be helping the Greengrass twins this morning. He'll be a bit late for breakfast, so go on without him."
The otherworldly girl's eyes seemed to gaze sightlessly for a moment. Blinking, her face twisted with fury. "The only thing upsetting those little vipers is Malfoy not giving them the time of day. If they think they're getting Kieran to kiss them and make their phony pain all better, they have another thing coming."
The moment the door slammed shut, the three remaining in the chamber cackled like witches. Fiona held her side. "That girl is so in denial. She pretends not to care less what tall, dark, and gorgeous does, but somehow always manages to make sure he doesn't comfort any girl with kisses. Wonder when Kieran will clue her in to her true motives?"
Morrigan said, "Maybe by Valentine's Day. That would be so romantic." The corners of her lips turned down. "Not that I'd know about romance, seeing as the closest thing I get to it is a bloody letter."
Fiona hugged her friend. "That is romance. It's just long distance, and at least Jay can't wait to see you at the holidays. I won't even get a bloody Valentine since I blew off Roberts. I talked to him between classes yesterday, and he told me he's going with Lovegood now. I couldn't believe it, but she walked up looking like she wanted to jinx me, so I guess it's true."
Blaise nodded. "It is. Terry and I are going with them to Hogsmeade tomorrow. Sorry. Are you very...disappointed?"
"Surprisingly, I am. Oh well, guess I'll have to settle for a boring seventh year with looks, money, and a bod to die for."
Blaise fluffed her short curls with her fingers. "If you think Beckham is boring, it's because you've never danced with him. Slytherins don't say 'bend it like Beckham' for nothing." She waggled her eyebrows at Fiona. "I bet if you give him your famous 'come here baby' smile today, he'll ask you to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow, and by February you'll have a Valentine. Morrigan can enchant one of his friends to keep in practice for her Yank. What do you say?"
An auburn eyebrow rose. "I say when did you become such a ruddy matchmaker?"
"Since I read Much Ado About Nothing and discovered how much fun it could be. If nothing else, the time shall not go dully by us."
Fiona said, "I remember a line." She clasped her hands together and gazed up at the ceiling. "God match me with a good dancer!"
Together, Blaise and Morrigan shouted, "Amen!"
Fiona smirked. "And God keep him out of my sight when the dance is done!"
The friends laughed as they left the room and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
In the entry, a boy was leaning against a wall, waiting for someone--probably his girlfriend. He looked around as if to make sure no one he knew was near and then waved Blaise over.
She said, "Talking to me of your own free will. I'm flattered, Weasley."
He looked almost bashful. "I just wanted to say I'm glad you're better now."
Aw, Ronnikins was being sweet. Blaise muttered, "Yeah, well, I remember you coming to see me in the library...so...thanks." She flailed around mentally, trying to think of something non-sappy to say. "Your hair looks longer. You letting it grow?"
He gave a huff of surprised amusement. "Yeah, I suppose. Does it look okay?"
"Bet Granger thinks you're lookin' good, Mr. Freckles."
Weasley's wide smile flashed. "Thought I told you not to call me that anymore?"
She shot back, "Thought I told you to keep it strictly lips?" After the words left her mouth, Blaise wanted desperately to somehow grab them back, but it was too late.
He smiled at her chagrin and teased, "I should be thanking you..."
"What do you have to thank Zabini for, Ronald?"
Dark-brown eyes met blue for a panicked instant before Blaise turned to Hermione. "For recommending Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to my father. They were given the contract to supply the orphanages Zabini Jewellers supports with unique items at Christmas." She smiled. "Of course no thanks are necessary. The boys already did that, and even proposed to me, the darlings."
"Both of them?" Hermione asked coolly. "I suppose you'd like two husbands, since you're so used to juggling two boyfriends."
Blaise ignored Ron's gasp of shock, giving a true smile in return. She liked Hermione a heck of a lot better snippy than when she was doing her usual prim and prissy know-it-all act. That didn't mean she wasn't going to give the girl as good as she got, though. Imitating Draco's insolent stare and wicked smile--he was the master at making others lose their cool--she said after a sidelong glance Ron, "Wonder if I'd enjoy juggling three?"
As she sauntered away, Blaise felt her shoulder blades prickle. She expected Hermione could come up with some incredibly uncomfortable hexes. Thankfully, the girl didn't blast her with one.
After entering the Hall, Blaise rushed over to kiss Terry. That was exactly what she needed to get the morning back on a happy track. Lifting her lips from his, she purred, "Morning, love." He smiled and echoed the sentiment.
When she forced herself to go sit in her proper seat, Draco gave her that 'what did you do?' look. Blaise greeted everyone at the table and began to eat. Honestly, he was so suspicious...and way too perceptive.
Pansy gleefully told everyone the latest gossip. Ronan was leaving Hogwarts. Rumour had it McGonagall herself caught the girl in Potter's room this morning. Blaise looked over at the Gryffindor table. Ronan finished saying her goodbyes and called to her brother. "Hey, Kieran!"
Watching the bold girl step up onto her House table, leap down to the other side, and walk toward Slytherin, Blaise had to admit Ronan had style, if no taste at all in boys. She returned the girl's smile when she climbed up and over their table to reach her brother.
"I'm leaving. How about walking your sister to the door?"
Kieran nodded. "About time."
When the pair walked away, Draco leant over. "I don't care what anyone says. No way did Potter get a leg over."
Blaise snickered. "Maybe the Prophet should change his name to The Boy Who Couldn't Get Lucky?"
Draco's shout of laughter made his housemates grin and the students over at Gryffindor table glare. Knew they were disparaging their ickle hero, did they? Ginny and Colin were the only ones who smiled instead of sending visual daggers.
The remainder of the meal passed in a pleasant mix of outrageous speculation and hilarity until a large black owl swooped down from the rafters. It dropped an envelope and a magazine in front of Blaise.
Some impulse made her peer down the table at Cassandra. Her roommate gazed at her with pity. Insides wrenching in dread, Blaise lifted her wand.
Before she could blast the mail, Draco grabbed her wrist and took her wand away. "People get sent to Azkaban for tampering with the owl post. You have to open it and face whatever it is like a big girl."
Blaise leaned out and looked at Terry. He was smiling reassuringly at her. Luna and Wesley were too.
She squared her shoulders and reached out a hand to open the envelope. The bottom dropped out of her world when the missive rose into the air, projecting her mother's enthusiastically gushing tones.
Sweetie darlings! It's been so, so hard to keep this a surprise, but finally I can share the absolutely fabulous news. You've been made the new Zabini Jewellers Couple!
Those pictures you were such angels to let the photographer snap whilst we waited for the bloody, buggery, anorexic models to show were so much better than the other tosh that we used them instead!
Cissy and I are so proud our gorgeous lovebirds are in all the mags. Take a look at how glam you are, and remember to thank your mumsies when you owl, sweeties! Ciao!
The Gusher exploded into a shower of black confetti. Blaise stared down at the magazine, not even bothering to brush the paper out of her hair.
Draco gave her a commiserating glance and turned the publication over. It was Teen Witch. Bollocks. Practically every girl at this school would have one delivered over the next day.
Staring down at the couple looking at engagement rings together in the first ad, Blaise admitted that she and Malfoy did indeed look 'gorgeous' and 'glam'. When she saw the next advertisement, her eyes closed in misery. How would she ever explain this to Terry?
They'd been goofing around with the photographer while waiting for her father at the posh London shop over holiday. The models had been late, and the nice man—weren't they the worst—had asked them to do him a favour, enact a couple of scenes just to make sure the lighting was right. The lighting was brilliant, but the photograph...
"I think the bloke's too pale for you, Blaise, but you look beautiful."
She looked up. Terry's gaze was wry, but it was smiling. Her answering smile was lopsided. "The pictures were never meant to be in magazines."
He held out a hand. She took it and stood. Picking up the magazine, he slid his arm around her waist. "I know. Things like this just happen to you, baby. Come on. Tell me all about it on the way to class."
Blaise ignored the stares, the whispers, and the sight of owl after owl gliding down to drop magazines into eager hands to walk out of the Hall with Terry smiling down at her and keeping her close by his side.
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Ginny watched the couple leave the Hall and turned Colin. "The ads can't be that bad if Terry was smiling, can they?"
He pointed to the copy of Teen Witch an owl dropped onto the table in front of her. "Maybe you ought to see for yourself."
Hermione reached out and turned the pages. How rude. The first advertisement after the table of contents was a Zabini Jewellers ad showing a stylish young couple looking for an engagement ring.
Ginny glanced over at Draco He was regarding her steadily, watching her face to gauge her reaction. She gave a small smile before looking at the magazine again. The photograph was very tasteful, yet her stomach began to knot.
She observed the pair while they looked at rings, chose one, and then watched Draco slide the emerald and diamond ring onto Blaise's finger.
Over Ginny's shoulder, Ron said, "Thought I'd see what the fuss is about. Doesn't seem like…."
The rest of her brother's words trailed away when his girlfriend flipped and found a full page spread. Now Ginny knew why Blaise had closed her eyes in misery. She wanted to shut hers too, but she couldn't.
Instead, she sat frozen in place watching the images play out in a loop over and over again. She tried to detach her feelings, view it impersonally. The ad depicted a couple propped on pillows, lying together in front of a fireplace. The pale hair and skin of the 'man' wearing a black robe was a dramatic contrast to the dark curls and golden skin of the 'woman' in red. The male whispered in his partner's ear. When she sat up, he draped a magnificent diamond necklace around her neck.
No wonder the photographer recommended using the shots. They didn't seem staged, they seemed real. The magicked picture ended before masculine lips touched deep red feminine ones, but the ad implied that the couple would be making love in front of the fire after the 'man' had expressed his love with diamonds.
Ron muttered, "Crikey...that Mrs. Zabini's a right nutter to do this to her kid."
"If her sweetie darling hadn't done it, she wouldn't have been able to use it, would she Ronald?"
Ron and Hermione's argument heated up, but Ginny tuned them out while she tried to come to terms with the jealousy eating away at her heart.
She knew those two were best mates, comfortable with one another, and realised how easily that could seem more intimate when viewed through a camera lens. Blaise loved Terry. Draco loved her. Terry appeared to be handling the ads well. Why wasn't she?
"That photographer is bloody brilliant! I bet Zabini Jewellers makes loads of galleons off these ads. Every girl will want her man to be Malfoy, and guys will want to see nothing but golden skin and diamonds...Ow! Why'd you hit me Ginny?"
"You care more about the photograph than about the girl in it! Blaise has to be mortified over her mother using her so horribly and you...you...!" Snatching up her magazine and rushing out of the hall, Ginny's face crumpled. She'd yelled at Colin, but she was really upset at herself.
A voice called to her, asked her to wait. She started running, fiery hair streaming. Draco caught up to her and pulled her by the wrist into an empty classroom.
Wrenching herself away from him, Ginny crossed her arms. "Did you kiss her?"
Draco looked hurt. "Of course not! It was a bloody photo shoot. It was all pretend. I don't like the way it looks either, but you of all people should know…."
"I do know." The words seemed to burst out of some dark part of her soul. "I know how close you two are, and I can't help but wonder how you express that affection when no one else is around. Do you sleep together in front of the fireplace?" She couldn't stop herself from asking, "Are you lovers as well as friends?"
He had rumpled his hair with agitated fingers. "Damn it, Red, you know we aren't!" His gaze pleaded. "Why are you saying such...insane...things?"
Her hands shook as she held up the magazine. "Because everyone who opens this and every other bloody rag with those ads in them will see you and Blaise looking at rings, you and Blaise in front of the bloody fire...you and Blaise!"
Ginny wanted to give him a bat-bogey hex for looking so lost for words. She wanted to scream and tear her hair out. She wanted to find Blaise and tear her hair out. Instead, she tore the magazine into tiny shreds and then used her wand to reduce the paper to ash while Draco looked on with open-mouthed incredulity.
While she stood breathing heavily, face red, teeth gritted, his expression changed from shocked to something that caused a frisson of alarm to travel up her spine—she took a step back when he took a step forward.
"My, my, my, what a...passionate...reaction you had, Ginevra. All fired up over a few pictures of me and Zabini. You've seen worse before. Why go over the edge this time?"
He took another step forward. She involuntarily took a few back, placing the teacher's desk between them.
Draco's eyes were a dark shade of grey that she hadn't seen before. The sight was very unnerving. So was his half smile. "What happened to the little spitfire who ripped a magazine apart with her bare hands? Cat got your tongue, little red bird?"
Not if she could help it. If the boy stalking her like a great cat thought that he could use his love god wiles on her...well, she was keeping the desk between them to ensure that he couldn't.
Ginny watched him lean down and draw a heart on the dusty surface of the desk with a fingertip. The initials GW, DM were placed inside. The sight reminded her of the one he'd carved inside a giant pumpkin. She had to bite her lip to keep from speaking. He was the one with explaining to do.
Draco moved suddenly around one side, causing her to squeak in alarm while she countered his position.
Chiselled lips curved. "Now you're a mouse, are you? Too timid to tell me how you really feel?" He smiled when she glared. "Don't like thinking of yourself that way, Gryffindor? Timid, afraid, cowardly?"
"I'm not a coward!" Merlin, she'd risen to the bait. Oh, how smug he was, his lips pursed so sexily...oh, no, he wasn't luring her with his indecent good looks. Ginny mutinously shook her head. A white blond eyebrow rose. He was not playing fair. There was only thing more evil he could do to her.
"Since I seem to be missing my first class to try and decipher what the hell has got into my girlfriend, I really should make myself comfortable."
Draco took off his robes and placed them over a chair he cleaned with his wand—wouldn't want to get dusty. Ginny pressed her lips together. Ruthlessly, he began to tug at his tie. Even when the diabolical boy removed his blazer and unfastened the top three buttons on his shirt, she remained strong.
No matter how much she wanted to reach out, grab that tie and use it to pull Draco over for the snog of their lives, she wouldn't do it. She would stand firm. She might sway a bit and tremble, but she was a Weasley! She would hold out.
Her internal speechifying allowed Draco to slip around to her side of the desk. He gripped her shoulders. "Talk to me, Ginny! What's going on in that mind of yours? Why are you acting mental over those pictures?" In frustration, he gave her a small shake. "Tell me!"
Ginny knew her expression mirrored his unhappiness. "I'm sick and tired of the gossip! I hate having to keep my mouth shut every time I hear it. Did you know people think you've got some sick, Slytherin, open relationship going? That they wonder whether Boot can't see it or if he just doesn't care since he's her 'main man' and you're only the 'boy on the side'?"
Draco's face hardened. "Of course I know what people say. I've lived with shite like this my whole life. You learn not to care...and not to listen." His palm cupped her cheek. "Why do you care, when you know that I love you, and you love me?"
The tender expression that transformed his face made her feel even more miserable. "I want to be the girl in the photographs with you. I want everyone to know you're nobody's boy on the side because you're my main man."
The satisfaction on Draco's face indicated he had known that all along. He had just wanted her to admit it.
Ginny fought back tears. "Only I can't be that girl, because I can't tell anyone yet. Having Blaise over helped me get my parents to admit Slytherins are not all Death Eaters in training, but I still need a bit more time before…."
She couldn't go on. She was too choked up to say another word. Her throat ached and tears began to trickle down her cheeks. Draco pulled Ginny against him and held her so tight it was hard to breathe. It was just what she needed.
His lips brushed her hair. "I'll wait. I don't like it, but I understand. It's frustrating, and I envy Blaise because she and Boot get to do all the things I'd like to do with you...but I can deal with it...Malfoy's are known for making the best out of a bad situation."
Masculine fingers were stroking her hair, sliding slowly down her back. Ginny whispered, "I thought Malfoys were known for being love gods?"
The slow smile he gave made every nerve in her body tense in anticipation. "We are...and I'll show you exactly what I mean when…."
Her lips cut off his speech. She didn't want talk, she wanted action. Ginny felt a primitive elation when Draco's mouth moved passionately against hers. Every kiss she gave and returned made the word 'mine' echo in her head.
These lips, mine...these hands, mine...this face, mine...this body, mine...this incredible arse-mine, mine, mine….
A low, rumbling chuckle escaped the mouth that was hers when Draco said, "I'm glad you think my arse is incredible, and I like the possessiveness, but if you keep squeezing me like that, I'm going to have to squeeze you, like this."
Ginny was too distracted by the bone-melting sensation of having his hands mould and press her backside against what was hers, hers, hers, to feel embarrassed about speaking aloud. Her hand clenched convulsively around his tie, wanting to pull him down and snog his brains out some more.
A knock on the door halted the lips hers were reaching for again. The handle turned. Draco snapped, "Who's there?"
"Blaise." She slipped inside and smiled hesitantly at Ginny. "Colin found me a few minutes ago, told me he gave Binns a 'female problem' excuse for you, so you won't get detention for missing class."
"Knew just where to find you, did he? Pervy little stalker. What about me?"
Blaise widened her eyes, pretending not to know what he meant, then grinned and reassured the boy returning his hair and attire to perfection, "I said someone had slipped a Puking Potion into your juice at breakfast and you were 'recovering' from the prank." She smirked. "Luckily, your Arithmancy assignment just happened to be rolled up with mine, so I turned it in and all is well."
Ginny asked, "How did you know where we were?"
Blaise took a small sphere out of her pocket.
Draco laughed. "A trackingbrall! How long have you had it? Is that why you always found me whenever we played hide and seek?" He saw his friend's reluctant nod and crowed, "You little cheat! Wish I'd thought of it. Good one."
Ginny looked askance at the grinning pair. Slytherins were so strange, sometimes. Then again, wouldn't she love to be able to find Malfoy when she didn't have the mirror handy?
Her hands rose without thinking to catch the small ball tossed by the other girl. "Keep it. I've got another one." Blaise winked at her before opening the door and then gesturing that the coast was clear.
After Ginny followed her, Draco drawled, "Want to be able to track me down and snog me at all times, eh?"
Ignoring one Slytherin's giggles and the other's smirk, she nodded, "Damn right."
The look of admiration on both faces made Ginny toss her hair and strut like a Slytherin all the way down the corridor toward her next class.
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Slowly and carefully, Luna wrapped a long strand of blonde hair around her finger. Before class, Ginny had pulled her friends aside and asked for help with a plan for getting Professor Hands to sponsor a Muggle-style Valentine's Dance.
Luna had been doubtful, but Blaise had proceeded to use her snake-like cunning to paint such beguiling mental pictures of music and slow dancing with their boyfriends that the doubter had been swayed to agree to help.
Feeling like another female who'd taken a bite of forbidden fruit because a sneaky serpent had talked her into it, Luna's eyes narrowed. Her finger started to turn blue. The colour suited her mood.
Although she fully realised how lucky she was to have Wesley, Luna still felt a pang from time to time whenever she saw Harry. This morning, when she'd heard the rumour that Potter and the new girl had been caught by McGonagall, she'd had to look down at her plate and force herself to keep eating.
Although she had felt ill, Wesley's smile had lifted her spirits. So had hearing the girl Harry had obsessed over tell her brother that she was leaving. Luna had refrained from glancing over at the Gryffindor Table, which seemed to reassure her boyfriend that the news didn't matter to her one way or the other.
Now, absently noting the purple cast to her digit, Luna released the hair and wished that she hadn't felt her heart lurch at the thought that Harry was probably gutted at the girl's departure...and might need a friend.
"Professor Hands."
The man looked up from the magazine he was reading. He had assigned them a couple of chapters to read silently from their textbook and promptly relaxed at his desk. Smiling genially, he replied, "Yes, Miss Zabini?"
Blaise winked at Luna. In an enthusiastic, breathy voice Hands seemed to like, she said, "Professor, Colin was telling me the other day that his Muggle friends at home all have Valentine's Day dances at their schools...and I was wondering…."
Luna was wondering how males could lose IQ points just by listening to a girl speak breathily. It was quite disturbing. Colin was nodding his head like he knew what Blaise was talking about and agreed with every syllable. Perhaps it was the blood rushing from his brain to other areas.
"Yes?"
Blaise ducked her head and looked up bashfully. "Do...Do you think a Valentine's Dance...here at Hogwarts...would...would be a good idea...to promote tolerance of the non-magical and increase student knowledge of their social customs?"
The professor held his chin in a podgy hand, tapping his lips with a finger and generally tried to appear wise and manly. He failed miserably. "A Muggle-style Valentine's Dance to educate and promote tolerance. Assuredly if I were to approach the Headmaster he would immediately seize the opportunity to celebrate magical diversity. However, I fear the work involved…."
"Excuse me, Professor."
The man speaking rhetorically more than to the class halted his ruminations and gazed amiably at the girl sitting with such nice posture—straight, with shoulders back—and inclined his head regally for her to speak.
Ginny said, "Professor Lorelei once told me how much she enjoyed organising dances at her other schools. I'm sure if someone as distinguished as you were to mention the subject, she would eagerly volunteer her services."
Luna remembered the part she was to play in this choreographed farce and said, "I don't know. I don't think anyone could make this Valentine's Dance a reality. It would take a lot of influence."
Hands took the bait. "Luckily for my classes, I have just that influence, Miss Lovegood. I don't like to toot my own horn, but when I speak, people listen. Class is dismissed. I will go see Albus...Headmaster Dumbledore...at once."
Luna stood with Blaise and Ginny while their classmates filed out.
Blaise's happy smile visibly wilted when the professor hurried over with his magazine and asked her to autograph the Jewellery advertisement displaying the girl's skin along with the diamond necklace.
Once the slimy professor left, the girls exited the classroom. Outside, Blaise grabbed her curls in both hands and shrieked, "Aaahhh! If I didn't want to have this dance so bad I can taste it, I'd...I'd…."
Colin had hung around. He asked, "What's it taste like, then?"
Blaise laughed shortly. "It tastes like Terry's lips, fifth year...and that's the only thing worth putting up with Professor 'I toot my own horn'!"
Ginny snickered. "He has to toot it himself. Nobody else in their right mind would want to touch it, much less toot it."
The friends laughed. Colin asked with a smile, "Is anyone going to the library after dinner?"
Luna knew why the other girls were going, and it wasn't to lay their hands on books. She said, "Are you going, Colin? If you are, there's a friend of mine I'd like you to meet."
Blaise and Ginny both said they'd see them later and went their separate ways. Colin asked, "Which friend? The sweet one or the one with attitude? I know Longbottom's going with Brocklehurst."
Luna verbally sidestepped. "Mindy MacDougal."
"The one with attitude. Okay, fine. I'll see you...and your friend...later."
Drifting back to Ravenclaw House, Luna pondered whether or not Colin and Mindy were going to hit it off. The boy hadn't seemed especially thrilled to be set up, and neither had her roommate.
"Hello, Luna." Harry Potter was smiling at her and pulling her out of the flow of students in the main corridor to talk by a recessed window. The wind was blowing bits of leaves and twigs around outside.
Inside, Luna felt blown away too. Emerald-green eyes behind round glasses watched her face intently. A sense of unreality gripped her as he ran a hand through unruly black hair. "How've you been? I haven't talked to you in awhile."
She blinked. "You've been...preoccupied."
Harry smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I have. I've missed talking to you, though."
Her heart skipped a beat.
"You're really comfortable to be around...no drama...just good friends. Would you like to go with me to Hogsmeade tomorrow?"
Luna stared, feeling as though the world had tilted. Here was the boy who had lost the girl he'd made a fool of himself over asking her to go with him to Hogsmeade on the day Ronan left. He acted like it was no big deal, because he thought they were good, comfortable friends.
The world shifted back and looked even nicer without that rose-coloured distortion. It was brighter, more real, and more dramatic. She shook her head. "Sorry Harry, I'm going with my boyfriend."
"Your boyfriend? You can't mean that Roberts character?"
"Wesley and I have been going together for awhile now. I didn't kiss him in the library because he helped me find a book, Harry."
The-Boy-Who...no...Potter looked put out. How illogical.
He said, "You can't trust a charmer like that, Luna. He's probably going behind your back with another girl right now."
"No he's not. Wesley's as good as he is gorgeous...and he loves me."
Sneering did not make Harry more attractive, like it did certain Slytherins. Instead, he resembled a petulant little boy. "Sure he does. Do you love him?"
Luna gazed at the boy she'd once thought was her one true love. A smile stretched her cheeks so wide they ached. Her heart didn't ache. It felt like she could fly. "Yes."
Harry scowled at her expression and her answer, but his face smoothed out when a black-haired beauty with liquid dark eyes stopped beside him. The girl looked on the verge of tears. Some were even sparkling on her lashes.
In a soft voice that oozed pathos, Cho Chang said, "I just wanted you to know, Harry, that I understand the pain you're going through...losing someone you loved...like I lost Cedric. If you ever need someone to talk to…." Cho paused meaningfully.
After throwing a strange, smug look at Luna, Harry said, "I appreciate that. I was just telling Luna how I didn't want to go to Hogsmeade...alone…."
The other girl's lips trembled. She was incredibly pretty...and immensely stupid. Luna thought Cho was a disgrace to Ravenclaw House to be taken in by Potter's phony 'grief'.
Cho said with doe-eyed sympathy, "Oh no, you shouldn't be alone! I'd be happy to go to Hogsmeade with you Harry, if you really…need me."
Harry tossed another sideways glance Luna's way. "Thanks, Cho. I do need someone. Meet out front at ten?"
The girl's watery smile of agreement was tragic-heroine sweet. She sniffed and moved on, limply waving goodbye.
Luna was disgusted. "Did you ever care about Ronan? She hasn't been gone a day and you're already hooking up with Cho! How could you?"
Harry said, "Yes, I cared, but I can't have her, so what am I supposed to do...be alone the rest of my life? Besides, maybe if she sees me with someone else…." At her look of confusion, he shook his head. "Never mind. Go have fun with your lover-boy."
She took a step back, shaking her head, "Wesley's not my lover-boy, he's my love, and he's got more integrity in his pinkie than you've got in your entire body, Harry Potter."
Harry walked away. Luna turned in the opposite direction and came face-to-face with a boy whose dimples made his smile even more appealing.
"I don't know whether you just said I've got loads of integrity, or Potter's got none, but the part about my being your love...that was music to my ears, Buttercup." Draping an arm around her shoulders and steering her toward their House, Wesley bent down to murmur, "I do wish you'd reconsider...let me be your lover-boy too."
Masculine lips pursed so adorably there was only one thing to do—drag her boyfriend behind the statue of Cary the Charming and snog him silly.
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Later, in the back of the library near the Restricted Section, three couples sat at a table together. Ginny had already left to do some research.
After a few minutes of desultory conversation, during which Blaise sat on Terry's lap and played with his hair in between giggling over the things her boyfriend whispered in her ear, the couple told the other four they were going to 'try out' the window seat in the back and strolled off.
Wesley admitted he had a paper due and promised to return after finding a book on the third level. Luna tried to facilitate a conversation between Colin and Mindy, but neither seemed too interested. They both preferred to stare over at the Restricted Section.
Luna fabricated a story about a book she needed and left the two alone. Guilt over abandoning her roommate prompted her to go back to the table. When she neared the pair, the overheard conversation made Luna stop and listen in fascination.
"Do you think you could drool over Zabini a little more, Colin? You've almost got a puddle on the table there."
"What about you, Mindy? Think you could sigh a little louder over Boot? Glaring daggers at his girlfriend won't actually kill her, you know, so you may as well stop trying."
Luna stayed hidden behind a nearby bookshelf. At least they were talking.
"What do you see in that girl anyway, Gryffindor?"
"I thought you were smart, Ravenclaw. That's a stupid question. Blaise sings, she's funny, sexy, nice...don't sneer, she is...and best of all, she's photogenic!" The sound of magazine pages turning could be heard. "Look at that photograph! I've taken loads, and they're great, but this...this is amazing...the camera makes love to her like…."
"Like you want to? Won't it be hard to kiss those lips when they're permanently attached to her boyfriend's?"
Alarmed by the depth of Colin's admiration for Blaise, Luna nodded her unseen agreement with Mindy's question.
Colin answered, "You can help with that, if you'll use those brains and stop letting your emotions show like a Hufflepuff. You need an attitude adjustment."
Goodness, had Colin been affected by becoming Draco more than she'd known, or had the sweet, innocent image been just that—an image, not reality? Luna's eyes were being opened a lot today.
Mindy said, "What kind of attitude adjustment?"
Colin chuckled. "First, stop viewing them snogging like mad as a personal affront and start looking at it like I do—practise."
"Practise...for us...why, that's...that's...brilliant Colin! So you want me to do what, pretend we've hooked up so that we can look for a way to break those two apart? I can do that."
A droll voice whispered in Luna's ear, "I'm hearing all sorts of interesting things today. That pair would scare me if I thought there was a chance in hell they'd be able to pry Tarzan away from Jane."
Luna shifted in order to slide her arms around his neck. "If they spend a lot of time together, working so closely, admiring each other's devious ways...just think what that could lead to!"
"The Taming of the Shrew? I'm all for it, my little matchmaker." Wesley showed his admiration with a long, thorough, loving kiss.
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Draco stopped at the entrance of the Hog's Head to ensure the hood of Ginny's cloak hid her entire face. Advising his girlfriend to breathe shallowly through her mouth, he opened the door to the disreputable tavern.
Inside the dirty room reeking of indefinable animal smells, they drew covert stares from the dodgy clientele. Students stopping in on a Hogsmeade weekend were a rare occurrence. The burly, grizzled barkeep smiled, revealing teeth that had seldom benefited from cleaning/flossing mints.
With a gleam in his eye made brighter by the clinking sound made by the bag tossed onto the bar, the man indicated a door at the far end of the chamber with a muttered, "Floo's through there. Enjoy your trip."
Draco guided his companion through the portal into a room whose only feature was an unlit fireplace. He peered sideways and asked, "You ready, Red?" She nodded and stepped onto the blackened hearth, tossing a handful of Floo powder and stating their destination. With a feeling of anticipation, he followed.
The moment he stepped out of the fireplace, Ginny placed a finger over his lips. Pointing toward the far door, she pulled him over to a nearby cupboard, pushed him inside, eased beside him and whispered, "Someone's here!"
A door slammed. Enrique Zabini was heard shouting, "What have you done, woman? I leave for a fortnight and return to find you have prostituted our only child!"
"Honestly, darling, that 'child' is all grown up now, and posing for a few teensie weensie pictures is hardly prostitution, sweetie. We didn't pay her a knut."
In the shadows, Draco wrapped his arms around Ginny. Hiding and hearing unusual conversations was starting to become an unsettling trend. He rolled his eyes when Blaise's father spoke so dramatically, it was easy to envision arms waving, hands gesturing, and eyes flashing.
"Oh really, cara mia? Well, I beg to differ. Pretend all you want that you were doing it for the company, but I've received half a dozen marriage proposals from pure-blood families…."
"Half a dozen? Already? Why that's fabulous! Cissy and I knew that if we advertised our beautiful babies all the best doors would open."
Ginny jumped at the sound of something glass hitting the wall and shattering. Draco tightened his hold. His girlfriend snuggled closer.
Enrique hissed menacingly. "You will not sell my little girl to some inbred aristocrat in order to get yourself invited to the best parties, carina. Blaise is destined to head the company one day—or marry a man who will manage it until my grandchildren become of age. Any plot by you and that...witch...you call friend endangering that future will meet my wrath."
Draco wondered if Edina had finally been silenced by terror. She was breathing in such ragged gasps they could hear the sound across the room through the thin cupboard door. Grey eyes widened in surprise. 'Eddy's' high heels were clicking rapidly while she hurried to the man who had all but threatened her life.
She groaned, "Oh my gods, Enrique, beloved...I would never, ever, do anything to upset your little plans, darling. Cissy and I are only using this to get invited to glam parties, love. We still want our little baby girl and boy to join our families one day, dearest...beautiful...amazing...sexy...man."
The sounds accompanying the entreating explanation made Draco grateful he couldn't see what exactly the woman was doing to her husband.
Enrique grumbled, "I am still unsure as to young Malfoy's suitability, although for touching my innocent daughter, he should be forced to marry her or be cursed!"
The 'young Malfoy' in question felt fortunate that the woman trying to get a leg over her husband distracted the volatile businessman from that uncomfortable train of thought.
"Sure, sweetie, darling, sweetie, sweetie, dearest, darling. Whatever you say, lover...just...before you leave for Spain and I meet Cissy to go shopping, can't we slip off to the bedroom?"
"Why not slip out of your clothes right here, Edina, quierda? The floor is so much closer than the bed."
"I would darling, I would...but there's glass, darling. That might break the mood, sweetie."
"Basta! Go, before you get the punishment you deserve right here, strega."
Mrs. Zabini could really move quickly when she wanted. Her husband's deep laughter caused the listeners to cringe while the couple went off to—Draco refused to think about it. He and Ginny were going out for lunch and he wanted to be able to eat.
They snuck out of the flat and bypassed the lift to run down the service stairway to reach the street below. The sidewalk was packed with shoppers enjoying the mild London weekend.
Draco held Ginny's hand as they joined the throng. They began to laugh as the shock of the near-encounter wore off. He looked down at his girlfriend imperiously and affected a Latin accent. "Woman, you will try on clothing, and if your choices do not appeal to me, I will rip them off with my teeth!"
Ginny stared at him in silence before licking her lips. "Oh my gods, Draco, you beautiful, amazing, sexy man...kiss me!"
The moment his mouth touched hers, Draco ceased to care whether or not his Freckles had been serious or spoofing. He was too happy to be able to kiss his 'woman' and not care who was watching.
Later, as they strolled back to meet Blaise and Terry at the flat, Draco was felt a deep contentment to have spent time with Ginny. He would have never chosen to go poking round rummage-y shops or eat a lunch wrapped in newsprint sitting on a park bench, but it had been unexpectedly fun.
He reached out to touch a smooth cheek, whimsically trying to decide whether his girl's freckles looked more like a dusting of spicy red pepper or a sprinkle of cinnamon. He grinned at his thoughts while he released the wards on the private entrance to the building.
Ginny lifted the bag she'd refused to let him carry. "Are you still making fun of my dresses? I'm telling you, retro is in."
Draco escorted her into the lift and spoke the destination, shaking his head while the compartment rose. He was not about to tell Red his barmy notions. She already thought he was wrapped around her finger as it was. Some things, a man had to be mysterious about.
If he was lucky, she'd try and snog the information out of him later. Still pestering him about his grin once they'd entered the flat, Ginny's smile faltered when they heard a girl cry, "Merlin, Terry, get off!"
Draco and Ginny ran over to see Terry roll off the sofa. Blaise sat up and straightened her top and miniskirt, muttering, "What's with boys and tickling anyway? If it's substitution for groping, I'd rather he go for the good stuff." Hearing the snickers, she asked the three plaintively, "Did I say that aloud?"
Draco nodded, amused. That seemed to be a female habit.
Transparently attempting to distract her companions from her faux pas, his mate said brightly, "Are you ready to go shopping? I see you've done some already. Show me what you bought, Ginny. Now is good."
Waiting for the girls to return, Draco made a stab at civility. "Wonder what Flitwick's going to have us doing in detention next week."
Distracted from grooming long hair with his fingers, Tarzan replied mildly, "Inventory. Merlin help us if a feather or a pillow's gone missing. We'll probably be sent scouring the castle for them."
Silence stretched out after that repartee. Eventually, Terry said, "We ran into Professor Hands in the Broomsticks. He told Blaise Dumbledore's approved the Valentine's Dance and even volunteered Professor Lorelei to organise it. Rather ballsy of him, I thought."
"I don't believe Hands has any. Dumbledore, though, probably thinks Lorelei owes him one." Malfoy smirked.
Terry frowned. "What for? Hiring her? Would've been stupid not to. She's a great teacher."
Draco looked up to see his girlfriend decked out in a mini dress. The shade of red complimented her hair. She wore striking makeup and knee high black boots, which Blaise had formerly been wearing if he wasn't wrong—and he was never wrong. He said, "You look beautiful."
Ginny smirked adorably. "Told you retro was in."
-
The two couples strolled into Siren's Secrets and quickly found the girls loads of intimate apparel. Draco and Terry agreed that they would forgo the pleasure of seeing the items tried on in order to prevent eyes other than their own from viewing Ginny and Blaise.
It was a sacrifice they were willing to make, and Draco knew Tarzan was thinking the same thing he was. It was more exciting to imagine seeing them later.
Draco glanced round the shop, looking for something else his girl would look marvellous in and saw double…double Weasley trouble coming through the front doors with identical girlfriends.
He stepped quickly into the dressing area. "Are you dressed, Ginny? Your twin pain in the arse brothers just waltzed in the door. We've got to get out of here!"
The girls hurried out, fully dressed, arms filled with frilly things. Blaise told Ginny, "Give me your things. I'll go distract them while you sneak out, and after I have this lot sent to me, Terry and I will meet you down the street in that little park with the statue that looks like Vezzini the Vicious."
Draco and Ginny waited in the back. Soon they heard Blaise exclaim, "Gred and Forge! Fancy meeting you here. Give me a hug you gorgeous...oops! I've dropped all my lacy bits." She said huskily, "How kind you darling men are to help me pick them up. Like that one, Fred? Yes, that's my favourite too. You don't think it's too naughty?
The couple in hiding slipped out the door while Boot and the twin girlfriends sourly watched the red-heads finger every silky piece they 'helped' Blaise recover from the carpet.
Draco draped an arm around Ginny's shoulder as they walked toward the park, laughing.
"For someone who used to be non-girly, Blaise really knows how to work her wiles now." Ginny giggled. "You should've seen her in Muggle Studies doing the act on Hands to get him to sponsor the dance."
Draco led her to a park bench. "No, thank you." Suspicious, he asked, "You didn't do the act on Hands too, did you?" His girlfriend seemed very interested in a couple of toddlers rolling a ball to each other across the park all of a sudden.
Meeting his steely eyes, she turned pink. "Not really. I smiled and…." She laughed nervously, demonstrating how...nice...she could make her posture appear.
He shook his head in disgust, but a smile twitched Draco's lips. If Ginny ever pulled that act on him, who knows what he'd give her. He chuckled at the thought of trying to explain before a match why he'd given his broom to a Gryffindor Chaser.
-
During dinner that evening, Draco grudgingly acknowledged that this 'double date' hadn't been painful as expected. In fact, listening to the girls' excited chatter about the Valentine's Dance; he thought perhaps it wouldn't be a bad thing to do again...someday.
Blaise shook her head vigorously, drawing his attention. She said to Ginny, "I agree...it's too bad. Hands said that he wanted the theme to be 'famous couples in Muggle history', but Dumbledore said some students would find it hard to get costumes, so we're all dressing 'Muggle semi-formal' instead."
At the mention of the dreaded word 'theme', Draco glanced at Terry. The other boy looked equally troubled. The moment of shared male dislike for ridiculous get-ups wasn't alarming as it once would have been.
Hastily averting his thoughts from ludicrous notions like possible male friendship, Draco saw something that was even more worrying. A couple was rising from a table across the room. It was Professors Snape and Lorelei!
Draco smirked. Ha! He'd known Potter hadn't gotten lucky. Snape drew on a cloak, covering his face with the hood. The professor held his companion's coat while she slipped her arms into the sleeves.
The other three at his table noticed Draco's stare. They gazed curiously over to see what he was looking at.
Terry said, "Hey, that's Professor Lorelei. Her sick father must be better. Who's that bloke she's with?" After Blaise whispered the answer in his ear, the boy made a face. "No!"
The couple under discussion was passing directly in the couples' line of sight. Snape remained focused on the door, but Lorelei saw them. Without drawing her partner's notice, she smiled and waggled her fingers.
Once the professors had left the restaurant, Draco demanded, "Blaise, just where did you hear that this was such a great, cosy, out of the way restaurant?"
"Erm…detention, with Lorelei."
Ginny's eyes were shining with amusement. She took his hand and brought it to her lips for a kiss. All at once, he forgot his irritation.
Draco lifted Ginny's hand to kiss the back and palm. Her soft, smiling look made him hungry. Since he had to wait to snog her properly, he drawled, "What's for dessert?"
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A/N: If readers who see Princess Bride quotes everywhere thought the statues were based on an actor and a character and Draco sounded like Prince Humperdink with 'and he was never wrong'...what good eyes you have! 'Famous couples in Muggle history' is based on the theme of the prom in 'Never Been Kissed'. Speaking of kissing, next chapter is Valentine's Day. I once chided an author for having a V-day come and go in a couple of sentences. The only sad celebration was a lame prank turning things pink. So of course, when it came time to put up or shut up in my own story, you know what I did. :D. Get ready for romance, people!